After every federal election, Liberal members vote on whether their party should hold a leadership convention. The result shows whether the leader has the confidence of his party. Here’s how they fared.
Liberal Party Leader Year Support against holding a leadership convention Jean Jean Chretien 1998 90% Jean Jean Chretien 1994 91.2% John Turner 1986 76.3% Pierre Trudeau 1980 86% Pierre Trudeau 1975 79.9% Pierre Trudeau 1973 90.6% Pierre Trudeau 1970 89.1% Liberal Party Leader Year Support against holding a leadership convention Jean Jean Chretien 1998 90% […]
Confronting Canada’s ‘democratic deficit’ and giving new ideas: Trench warfare in the Liberal Party throughout this summer is a pretty safe bet, but it’s bumming people out
Among the trials and tribulations of being an Ottawa lobbyist these days — and, let it be said, the agonies are many of late — is the inevitability of being asked several times a day for one’s take on what is often termed simply as the “Chretien-Martin thingy.” Clients, colleagues, relatives, cab drivers, barbers and […]
PM’s latest shuffle means pink slips for Paul Martin staffers: Most will continue working on Hill until end of the month, says former press secretary Melanie Gruer
Another group of heavy-hitting staffers suddenly found themselves out of work last week following Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s second Cabinet shuffle in as many weeks. Exactly seven days after former defence minister Art Eggleton was shown the door out of Cabinet, the PM stripped his long-time rival Paul Martin of his Finance portfolio. The move […]
‘Courageous’ Lib MPs
The House Public Accounts Committee investigating the controversial $1.6-million in contracts awarded by Public Works to a Liberal-friendly firm, Groupaction, should be congratulated for its work to date. Many critics had predicted its probe wouldn’t amount to much, but so far it’s proving critics wrong. The committee is doing what it’s supposed to be doing, […]
‘It’s a story of success’ in northern Israel: Arabs and Jews together [Mitzpim Plan in the Galil]
MISGAV, ISRAEL–While frequent images of suicide bombings and Israeli retaliations might suggest that most interactions between Arabs and Jews are violent, daily life in northern Israel tells a somewhat different story. Nationwide, Arabs make up 20 per cent of Israel’s population. But in Israel’s northern region, the Galil, Jews are actually in the minority. Arabs […]
‘I think you’ve just seen a murder-suicide’: The immediate reaction to the news that rocked Ottawa [Some of the best quotes]
For Jean Chretien and Paul Martin, reaction is now everything. The careers of the two men, who have long been the most powerful political duo in Canada, now rest in the hands of public opinion and all eyes will be on the nation’s pundits, MPs and pollsters for insights into what will happen next. Canada’s […]
Craig Broadcasting comes to town
Some 57 channels and nothin’ on…There is no shortage of broadcasting outlets in the Toronto area with local content these days. However, it’s common acknowledge that the problem is not quantity, but quality, especially in the area of multicultural broadcasting. And that’s exactly what shortage that Toronto One, the new TV channel wants to address. […]
Boudria hints at early House shutdown: But Liberals could look like a government on run
The poisonous mood in Ottawa and the threat of bad optics will likely keep MPs in their seats right to the end of the Parliamentary calendar, say Liberal and opposition MPs. But Government House Leader Don Boudria says it’s too early to say when the House will break, suggesting he may push for an early […]
Prime Minister Chretien hasn’t changed Ottawa’s scandal culture: If waste were a hanging offence in Ottawa, the city would be a charnel house, more scandals will become
Eggleton certainly did nothing illegal. The former defence minister’s ministerial discretionary fund was, by definition, his to disburse as he wished. True, he was wasting taxpayers’ money by paying $36,500 for a 14-page report (seven of the pages were taken up with a bibliography) on stress among soldiers, a topic already being studied by his […]
Treasury Board’s Robillard surveys 190,000 public servants: Lucienne Robillard hopes survey will find out if civil servants are being harassed or discriminated against
The federal government is spen-ding $2.5-million to survey almost 200,000 public servants to seek their views on life as a bureaucrat, including whether they like their job and whether they’ve ever experienced harassment or discrimination on the job. In an interview with Civil Circles, Treasury Board President Lucienne Robillard says the results will help guide […]
